preface
Part 1.
bet
Part 2.
We can do it
Part 3.
Renegade
Part 4.
Good fight
Part 5.
The Reality of the World
Part 6.
In the barrel
Part 7.
funambulism

Acknowledgements
Photo caption
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The official memoir of Barack Obama, America's first black president
A living record of history, deeply intimate and unprecedentedly fascinating.
The book, "A Promised Land," which has captured the attention of the world, is the first volume (in two volumes) of memoirs written by the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, about his time in office. It vividly tells the remarkable journey of a young man struggling to find his identity and becoming the leader of the free world.
The book depicts in stunning detail the process of his entry into politics and his rise, as well as the monumental events that occurred during his first four years in office, a time of dramatic change and turmoil.
Obama takes readers on a thrilling journey from the moment he first aspired to politics, through his decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses, which demonstrated the power of grassroots activism, to the historic night of November 4, 2008, when he won the presidential election and became the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.
As we revisit his time in office, we are taken to the Oval Office, the White House Situation Room, and locations around the world, including Moscow, Cairo, and Beijing.
Furthermore, it offers a unique and profound exploration of the immense power and fundamental limitations of presidential authority, and offers unique insights into the dynamics of American partisan politics and international diplomacy.
Thanks to this, we get to see Obama as he forms his cabinet, grapples with the global financial crisis, probes Vladimir Putin, passes the seemingly impossible Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), argues with his generals over Afghanistan, fights for Wall Street reform, responds to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, authorizes Operation Spear of Neptune to kill Osama bin Laden… … and we get a close look not only at the White House but also at the president's inner thoughts and feelings as he goes through all of this.

“Sometimes I ponder the age-old question: ‘How does the personality of an individual leader influence the course of history?’
"Are those who ascend to positions of power merely channels through which time flows, deep and merciless, or are they, at least in part, authors of what will unfold? I wonder what power our anxieties and hopes, our childhood traumas and memories of unexpected help, wield." (803)

"A Promised Land" is surprisingly intimate and reflective.
It is the story of an individual's reckless challenge to confront history, and a community organizer's test of his beliefs on the world stage.
Obama candidly reveals how he struggled and barely managed to keep his balance as he ran as a black candidate, lived up to the expectations of a generation energized by the message of "hope and change," and faced the moral dilemmas of making such a momentous decision.
He speaks freely about the domestic and foreign powers he has dealt with, and candidly reveals how life in the White House has affected his wife and daughters.
Self-doubt and disappointment about oneself are also not tolerated.
Yet, his belief that America's great experiment and progress continues and that it is always possible never wavers.
This book, which captures Barack Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift bestowed but rather something built day by day on the foundation of empathy and shared understanding, in elegant and powerful language, offers profound inspiration and courage to all readers living in this turbulent era.

“The verdict is not yet out.
By the time this book is published, the US presidential election will be held.
While I believe this election is more important than ever, I also know that elections alone won't solve the problem.
Yet, the reason I can maintain hope is because I have learned to trust my fellow citizens, especially the next generation.
They seem to have a second nature in their conviction that all people are of equal value, and they urge us to live out principles that our parents and teachers may have said were true but perhaps never fully believed.
This book was written for those young people more than anyone else.
“It is an invitation to them to remake the world once again, to create together, with hard work, determination, and great imagination, a nation that is ultimately in line with all that is best within us.” (From the preface)